151.2 - Measuring Up

One of the things I appreciated about LA Weight Loss when I started with them in February of 2007 was that they took my measurements every month or so. I've never listed those stats on my blog, for no other reason than I just hadn't pulled the numbers all together in one place.

Recently I added a page to my trusty Excel exercise & weight tracking file that lists all the measurements I could find in my various notebooks and journals (LAWL has the "official" records, but of course I can't get them now that they've closed without notice, the bastards). I even found a notebook where I had measured myself in 2006.

Chest (upper chest, under my arms)
6/5/2007: 38.75" (weight 176.6)
8/3/2007: 38.5" (weight 167)
June 2008: 35" (weight 152ish)
8/7/2008: 35" (weight 151ish)

Waist (1" above belly button)
5/25/2006: 42" (weight was around 210-215, but I'm not sure exactly)
6/26/2006: 41"
10/12/2006: 38" (I think I was around 200)
6/5/2007: 36"
8/3/2007: 34.5"
June 2008: 31.5"
8/7/2008: 31.5"

Hips (hands at my waist on my hip bones, fingers pointing down, measure at the ends of my fingertips--thankfully this is above my saddlebags because they are much wider than my "hips")
5/25/2006: 49"
6/25/2006: 47"
10/12/2006: 44.5"
6/5/2007: 43"
8/3/2007: 41.5"
June 2008: 39"
8/7/2008: 38.5"

I never set measurement goals. I have no idea how wide my hips "should" be. I do know that my waist is finally under the dangerous circumference for heart disease. And I remember being measured for a cheerleading skirt in 7th grade--I was only a cheerleader in 7th & 8th grade at my tiny little middle school; I wasn't thin or coordinated enough to try out in high school. Plus, I was a total book nerd and the cheerleaders wouldn't have had me even if I'd tried, haha--and one of the moms commenting that I had a 27" waist and that seemed big for a girl my age. Funny what sticks in a pre-teen's head. So, a 27" waist would be teeny tiny, wouldn't it? (that's not my goal, BTW)

If I ordered clothes from a catalog based off my measurements, I'd have to order three different sizes because my shape is all over the place. But basically I'm a medium, size 8.

I'd like to see my waist and hips get smaller with weight training, and I think that might be what's happening with that half inch loss from June to August in my hips (either that or I pulled the tape measure tighter this time than last, ha).

Somewhere I read that for every pound lost, you lose 1" cumulatively all over your body. You can't measure the fat lost in fingers and feet, yet I know they have shrunk considerably, so I like that 1 pound = 1" thing.

My highest weight after the birth of my son in 2005 was 234 pounds, and I felt every bit as heavy as an NFL fullback .

At 151 pounds today, that's an 83 pound/inch loss, which is about the equivalent length of the average NBA player.

I'll continue to take measurements even if the scale doesn't change much more, because I'm hoping that my muscle will build while my body shrinks from weight training (I had a great class last night). One more set of numbers to obsess over isn't a bad thing, right? :)